Week 12 of the Liga MX’s 2015 Clausura season was probably the best of the campaign so far. Things
started slowly, but on Saturday night we saw the best match of the weekend with Atlas hosting Chivas to a 1-1 draw

Week 12 of the Liga MX’s 2015 Clausura season was probably the best of the campaign so far. Things started slowly, with Santos Laguna, Toluca, and America winning the opening three games of the weekend by a single goal, before strikers around the country suddenly found their scoring boots and the goals rained down.

Drama in Guadalajara

Despite all the goals being scored, it was the events of the Clasico Tapatio in Guadalajara which stole the headlines. Atlas vs Chivas is always a passionate and emotional affair, but this season’s tie was given extra significance thanks to Chivas’ resurgence and the possibility of the two sides coming up against each other in the post-season.

The game itself saw tactics go out the window. It was thrilling, end-to-end stuff, with a bundles of chances and tricks that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout.

Chivas struck first through veteran striker Omar Bravo, but with Tomas Boy fielding an attacking line up it was never likely to be the end of the action. Luis Caballero got the hosts level on the stroke of the half time and it stayed like that until the 90th minute when Hernandez naively brought Daniel Alvarez crashing to the ground in the area.

After a huge delay caused by Chivas’ protestations, 20-year-old Arturo ‘Ponchito’ Gonzalez had the chance to write his name into the history books from the penalty spot, but he attempted an outrageous Panenka that Chivas goalkeeper Luis Michel was able to get a finger-tip to after initially diving to his left. It was a fine save and deserves huge amounts of praise.

A draw was probably a fair result, but Chivas fans celebrated like it was a victory while Atlas fans were left to wonder what might have been. Neutrals can only hope we see a repeat of this game in the Liguilla in six weeks’ time.

Luis Suarez comes to Mexico

Luis Suarez is one of the greatest footballers on the planet. It’s no surprise that kids and seasoned-pros alike try to emulate him on the football pitch.

Unfortunately, it seems Tijuana’s Venezuelan midfielder Juan Arango has been watching the wrong set of highlights. His side lost 4-3 at home to Monterrey at the weekend in a thrilling encounter, a game in which he scored the equalizer to draw the tie level at 2-2 in the 57th minute.

Monterrey rallied, scoring two more to take a 4-2 lead, and the frustration became too much for the 34-year-old. With the game approaching full-time he tussled for the ball with Rayados’ Jesus Zavala, sinking his teeth into his opponents shoulder once he realized possession was lost.

The FMF are yet to comment, but video footage has left Arango with no defense. He’s already apologized to Zavala and the fans, but a lengthy ban is almost certain to be heading his way.

It would be a devastating blow to Tijuana’s title hopes; Arango has scored six times already this campaign, making him his side’s top scorer and the joint second top scorer in the league.

Goals Galore

The Arango incident aside, the weekend was a fantastic advert for Mexican football. After only three goals were scored in the first three games, there were then 28 goals in the remaining six games, an average of 4.6 per game.

Sixteen of those goals came in just two games, as Leon were sensationally beaten 5-4 at home by the previously struggling Queretaro, while Tijuana suffered their third defeat of the season after a 4-3 home defeat to the resurgent Monterrey.

Those two results gave rise to a host of stories. US-debutant ‘keeper William Yarbrough has now conceded five in each of his last two outings for Leon (after Week 11’s 5-1 loss to Monterrey).

Monterrey themselves, who have improved tremendously under new boss Mohamed, have now scored nine in two games and are just two points outside the playoff spots. Finally, league leaders Tijuana’s second consecutive loss means they’ve won just one of their last four games and now have seven teams within five points of them.